CSS a true jewel (trip report) WARNING LONG!

This was our 4th trip to a Couples Resort (2 trips to CN) and our 2nd trip to CSS. 4/17-4/24. This trip we brought 2 couples with us that were also with us at CN in 06. This trip was to celebrate 3 girlfriends since 7th grade turning 50 this year.

We arrived at Mobay and I was very pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got through Immigration and Customs. Big improvements there! The Couples Lounge is always such a welcome sight! I almost ran to it! We were quickly on our way. After a stop for a drink and bathroom break we arrived at the resort, our towels and champagne was quickly handed to us, and checkin was swift. Our repeat perks were waiting for all of us, although I wish I'd have looked at the sizes of the t-shirts, we were given two womens shirts, my husbands does not fit. Be sure to do a double check here. No worries I have two.

We were in a One Bedroom Ocean Suite which is what we had last trip. We were in G block, our view from this room was incredible, and in our opinion well worth the stairs.

I do not suggest if you have a large group to try to stay together for dinners, our trip started off shaky, but I blame this on ourselves. This is a Couples Resort after all, and we tried to have a party of 12 for dinner, needless to say that did not work out well, and started our trip off on a bad note. All quickly got better from here.

We took advantage of as much as we could that the resort offers as inclusive.

Early each morning we would have coffee/fruit on our balcony, watching the fisherman or the cruise ships go by. Then we would go down and have eggs prepared to order. Head to our spot on the beach. Even with the resort being at capacity finding a place was never an issue. This resort is very large, with 4 pools and 2 beaches you will always find a place.

We did Dunns River Falls, last trip we got rained out, so we made it a point to do this early this trip. Outstanding, however I'm not sure the video was worth the $40 since they ended ours with a different group. My husband wanted me to be sure to mention this in my review. lol

We snorkeled, went out on the Hobie Cats with the Watersports guys which is a riot! My husband water skiied, and 2 in our group dove. We made it to Sunset Beach for the sunset most every night. The sax player over there is such a romantic touch!
2 of the girls went on the shopping tour. We participated in Casino night and Shots Bingo, and well just had a blast. Watched more of the Entertainment this trip and it was great to slow down and meander.

The service during our stay, well this is where it gets turned on at CSS. Pierre the G.M is truly everywhere, and has his finger on the pulse of the resort at all times. He is amazing and it all trickles down from him. One of the people in our group loves Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew to him is like coffee is to me, so without it he is lost. He was asking one of the watersports guys about it, if they carried it in stores. Richard said he would check, as he had not heard of it. The next day Richard walked over to Aron with a couple bottles of Mountain Dew. You would have though he handed Aron gold! This was huge! Pierre did something similar for us that week, without going into detail something he thought was very small, was in fact very big. His response was that is was nothing and if that is all it takes to make a guest happy, well it is just what you do.

The Beach Party had been moved from our trip in 08 to a much better area, and the lights and setup were beautiful all in the JA colors. The entertainment was very good, as was the food.

The Manager's Cocktail Party was also excellent, with the Flutist in the background, and Mojito's in tow. Very nice beginning to a wonderful evening. The Repeater's Dinner follows, and they do a wonderful job with it at CSS. The presentation of the food is over the top outstanding! An evening not to be missed.

Has anyone encountered the rainbow affect around the sun while in JA?? Does anyone know what it is called? It was very very cool to see. We also had an orange moon one night, laying on our double chaise with a glass of wine, looking at the stars, the orange moon barely reflecting on the water, listening to tree frogs, while next to the one you love... seriously does it get any better than this?

Our trip in 08 the Gala got rained out. This year we had a beautiful night. The Gala is another thing not to be missed. It is like attending a gorgeous outdoor wedding reception with food stations from around the world. The desserts are gorgeous and I don't even like desserts. The entertainment that follows is very good, the reggae was awesome! Dancing under the stars with the white lights, again how romantic!

I was disappointed to see the room service menu had changed. It was smaller. The other menu's have also changed. I was pleased that my favorite appetizer at Casanova which is no longer on the menu was the special appetizer that night. I ordered two. It is the Calamari/Scallops/Shrimp in the puff pastry.

Last trip we did not make it to Bella Vista. This time we made it a point and really enjoyed it. Our other favorite was the Pasta Station at Pallazzina.

Now I will caution people not to expect glitz, glamour and opulence at Couples in the rooms at any of the resorts. (we have now been to all 4) The rooms at Couples are Caripbean casual elegance. If you go expecting more than that you will be disappointed! Having said that, we love the rooms at CSS, we love the One Bedroom Ocean Suites, we love the size of the suites, and balcony. We love the location of G block, the view we had was breathtaking. We only used the shuttle a couple times, as we enjoyed walking hand in hand a different route to and from our room enjoying the jungle-like tropical beauty of the resort

We did a trading places day at CTI. The decor there is absolutely beautiful. Tommy and Peggy having been there gave us a tour. We only saw a basic room since we could not get the rest of our friends off the island to show us their rooms... lol The island was a blast since we knew 3 couples from prior trips. We spent some time at the new pool as well. While personally I did not dislike CTI, it did not grab me like CN and CSS have. I think the biggest reason was the lack of lushness to the grounds. I loved having the option of the Trading Places Day. Great addition Couples! p.s. Thanks for buying me lunch Richie!

We did our repeaters massage which was outstanding as usual, and something we so enjoy as a Repeater's perk. We splurged on the Hot Stone Massage later in the week(compliments of our Jamaica Jug). We were fortunate to get the Hideaway both times, although I don't know how any of the huts on the cliffs could be bad with the waves crashing beneath you and the wind blowing. Ahhhhh take me back!

CSS is about the grounds, they are lush, tropical, jungle-like, surprises around every corner, drop dead gorgeous! CSS is about romance, flutists, and sax players, and gorgeous sunsets, and all in a setting that makes it almost impossible not to be in love. CSS is about service, if you need something do not hesitate to ask, the staff will do everything they can to make your stay memorable.

Speaking of the staff, well there are too many great ones to name! Like I said earlier it starts with Pierre and trickles on down. Shelly Ann and Mini Me in Entertainment. Orlando, Easton, Dimitri, Francine were our favorite bartenders. Kenneth and Marsha from the Spa, Dr. Love! Richard in Watersports, We just downright had fun with all of them.

I truly feel a vacation is very much what you make of it, you can always find things to complain about, which I'm not going to lie we did, but we would say ok, starting over now. Reflecting back on the things that bothered me, really not so big in the overall vacation picture. Again, this trip was to celebrate turning 50 with 2 of my oldest friends and their husbands, it turned out to be a very memorable trip for all of us!

This is the first time leaving Jamaica that I cried my eyes out. With all of the uncertainties in the world, and our lives right now, a return trip is not such a sure thing. The reality of that made this departure very difficult. Thank you CSS and staff for making it great!

Thank-you very much!!

Hi there,

First of all I would like to thank-you very much for your review the more detail that people go into the better (in my opinion) We are about to embark on our first trip to CSS and have been curious about what we will expect. After reading the reviews on the message board I have to say that it sounds better and better with each review!

I am glad that you had mentioned you had a glass of wine each night, my honey and I like our wine as well. What is the selection like at CSS? I heard that you have to pay a little for some of the "better" wines which we have no problem about. As well is it frowned upon to buy a few bottles to bring back to your room?

We are leaving May 14 and after your review our trip cannot come fast enough!!

Mzambo, when there is a rainbow around the sun it is called a sun dog, and the orange moon is probably cause by the amount of dust in the air from the Saharan desert and possibly the volcano ash from iceland.
Great review of CSS, we loved it also and the staff does really shine. We too have been to all 4, and while we enjoed each one, our home is CSA---which I can finally say this is Couples Eve for us! AHHHHH Jamaica and Couples.

Mzambo - Which room did you have in G Block? When we were there 2 weeks ago, we had D20, and loved it, but had Lij show us G16. We thought the view from there was so beautiful, and we loved the layout of the room. We hope to get that one next time. We are still in withdrawl, and we were also in tears as we left. Without a doubt, the most wonderful staff you could ever hope to meet, and a stunningly beautiful resort. We can't wait to return next year!!!!!

The first year we had G-4 which although the room was the most spectacular of any of the 1 bedroom Ocean Suites, we had seen, and we had several in our group, the view was a bit obstructed by the vegetation. This year we had G-10 and Tommy and Peggy were above us in G-18. We had the same view which I have attached a few pics of.

Just so everyone realizes you cannot request any room with any quaranty! The view from so many of the rooms at CSS are spectacular and ALL rooms have a view of the ocean.

The last pic was looking to the left which is the Lobby Pool and Balloon Bar area, and to the right was the elevator and Spa area.

We stuck with the house wines and were fine, but yes you can get bottles for additional fees.

I was just at CSS Apr 10-17, the wine available was chardonnay or cabernet, never got the name of it but it wasn't too bad. It surely wasn't Kendall Jackson but it wasn't Mad Dog, either. They served Frontera at the repeaters dinner. WORD OF WARNING though, your wine will NEVER, EVER get below the 2-3 ounce mark...it's the neverending wine glass!!!

I was just at CSS Apr 10-17, the wine available was chardonnay or cabernet, never got the name of it but it wasn't too bad. It surely wasn't Kendall Jackson but it wasn't Mad Dog, either. They served Frontera at the repeaters dinner. WORD OF WARNING though, your wine will NEVER, EVER get below the 2-3 ounce mark...it's the neverending wine glass!!!

Great Review From J&J

Reading your wonderful review brought terrific memories of our trip. It's hard believe we were in Jamaica at this time last week. CSS is truly a beautfiul place. Riding on the bus with you to the resort and sharing in your groups exciement was a great start to a terrific trip. Thank you!

Thanks for the detailed review. We are making our first trip to CSS in two weeks and are grateful for the information. We have been to CSA three times, but are trying something different this time. I think we will try to do the trading place day trip with CTI.

My husband and I are going to CSS Oct. 29th thru Nov. 6th and we can't wait. We've been reading reviews of CSS on TripAdvisor and this place sounds incredible. Thanks for more details of the resort. We are going for our 10th anniversary, which will be our first vacation since we've been married and it sure sounds like we picked the right place to go!

Reading your wonderful review brought terrific memories of our trip. It's hard believe we were in Jamaica at this time last week. CSS is truly a beautfiul place. Riding on the bus with you to the resort and sharing in your groups exciement was a great start to a terrific trip. Thank you!

This review makes me want to jump on a plane and fly right now!!!lol I jus can't want to go. I have my future hubby and I going from August 11-19th and I tell you I know more about where we're going now then he. Tis review has me so ready... I like the way everything sounds, not holding back on a perfect vacation but to enjoy yourself and the one you love in paridise, who could ask for more. I so can't wait for the day, all I'm thinking about is landing and getting married. If you are visiting in August and your there on the 14th please stop by, my future hubby and I will be getting married.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I just can't wait... I'm so excited I can scream...But I'm at work. Later